When Will the ‘Harvey Effect’ Reach Academia?
In the hypercompetitive world of higher education, many academics who face sexual harassment remain silent to avoid forfeiting a promotion or research gig.
His career was too important. Despite allegations of sexual harassment that were substantiated by an , the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law allowed Dean Sujit Choudhry to stay on the job. In 2015, Tyann Sorrell, Choudhry’s assistant, described how the dean had pursued her for kisses and long hugs over a period of months. Choudhry initially held onto his professorship and benefits. Even after an uproar, the university, which boasts a “zero tolerance” policy, kept him on payroll (he was pushed to resign as dean after Sorrell sued him for sexual harassment in 2016, but he remained on the law-school faculty). Choudhry was eventually put on a two-year sabbatical, still travel funding and research grants
